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Live Telescope Webcam Tonight
Daniel Bowen writes "Tonight's Willow Brook Elementary School star party will have decidedly more technology in use than previous years. In addition to a fleet of telescopes and astronomers for the children, this year there will be a live webcam connected to a telescope, operated by Roane State college astronomers, and hosted by the University of Tennessee Sunsite. The telescope image will also be projected onto the outside wall of the gymnasium in a 50 foot diagonal image alongside a Starry Night sky map. With cooperation from the City of Oak Ridge, TN, all streetlights in the neighborhood will be turned off, giving the giant projections clarity from the school yard, and night vision a chance. For one night out of the year, this suburban elementary school soccer field should have a beautiful nighttime sky, and a chance to inspire hundreds of children."
I think the point here is the hands on inspiration of children. Not the webcam part.
Pretty Pictures!
And SLOOH has special educational programs.
/. last august when my astronomy club was hosting our big annual Starfest?
I'm sorry for being a grump but, where was
We had thousands of people, and I played Dr. Science and made dry-ice comets for the kids. Oh, and we measured the size of the solar system with toilet paper.
Clear, Dark Skies
The fact that they're getting elementary school students involved with 'cool' science projects (visual astronomy is always cool) is a great way to stimulate scientific interest in these children. The US has problems with the current status of public schools, but this seems like a great step in the right direction.
One aspect that makes me particularly happy is that they've coordinated w/ the general community, to turn off the streetlights. This will make most community members feel involved in the project, even if only remotely. Many universities around the globe offer weekly or monthly public observatory hours, but few people make use of this or are even aware of it. But when you involve a community as a whole, people will notice. More neighbors might stroll over to see some interesting things in the sky, or even just become aware that there's a nearby telescope they never knew existed.
It might also encourage parents who would otherwise not really care about their child's education (unfortunately many parents think of school as free day-care), to ask some questions and maybe even encourage them a bit more. This move is definitely a good thing, and I really hope it works out well.